CENTERS AND DEPARTMENTS

ROBOTIC SURGERY

Robotic surgery at Clemenceau Medical Center:
Clemenceau medical Center is the first and only facility in Lebanon that provides Robotic assisted Laparoscopic surgery. Experts in different specialties that apply Robotic surgeries comprise the Robotic team at CMC and offer surgical care and expertise not found anywhere else in Lebanon or the region.

History of Robotic Surgery:

The daVinci Robot® is manufactured by Intuitive surgical® in the United States. It has been exponentially adopted in medical centers both in the United States and Europe.
It is used in multiple disciplines ranging from Urology, to general surgery, gynecologic, cardiothoracic and pediatric surgery.
Robotic surgery has now changed patient care and established itself as one of the most important and promising breakthroughs in medical innovation.

What is the daVinci Robot?

The daVinci Robot is a system that is attached to the laparoscopic trocars giving the possibility to the surgeon to perform a laparoscopic surgery with multiple advantages.
It is comprised of 3 main elements:

1. The patient bed side cart which contains the 3 or 4 arms that will be attached to the patient, a camera and 2 or 3 micro instruments according to the surgery performed.
2. The surgeon console where the surgeon sits and operates the robotic arms, he has a 3 dimensions High Definition view of his surgical field allowing him to perform precise and complex movements.
3. A tower that has the main computer and ancillary equipments needed like an energy source, the computer mainframe, cable connections, etc.

What are the Advantages of Robotic Surgery?

Robotic surgery is an advanced form of laparoscopic surgery.
The advantages can be divided into advantages over the traditional “open” surgery: translating into less pain, better cosmesis ( small 8mm incisions instead of one large 8-10 cm incision) less blood loss and risk of blood transfusions and short hospital stays (less than 24 hrs compared to the 3 or 4 days of open surgery).

The first Robot assisted procedure in General Surgery was performed at CMC Thursday 24th of July 2012. This constitutes a major breakthrough in surgical practice in both Lebanon and the region. A team of international experts recruited as full-timers at CMC, led by Professor Claude Tayar, performed since a series of several patients with different diseases. Pr Tayar started the Robotic Surgery program in his field 10 years ago in the University Hospitals of Paris and became a European expert and proctor for this new technology.

Major advantages of this technology include a real 3D HD vision of the abdominal cavity with articulated instruments and sophisticated software enabling very precise movements in performing laparoscopic surgery. The Robot allows more surgeons to perform procedures with a minimally invasive approach and permits to experienced laparoscopic surgeons to do procedures that are done otherwise by a classical open fashion. This technology reduces by these means blood loss, pain and complications of surgery.
Applications of Robotic Surgery include: Gastric surgery (cancer, reflux, Gastric Bypass, Band, Sleeve gastrectomy), Liver and bile duct, Pancreatic Resections, Intestines (small bowel, colon, and rectum) and Hernia.

Robotic assistance in Gynecologic surgery, Dr. Karim Nawfal:

When a women needs to undergo surgery multiple parameters have to be taken in consideration. First is the most optimal treatment of the disease, but also the surgical outcomes, the recovery and the final cosmetic result.
Now with robotic surgery, the most complex gynecologic surgeries can be performed with very small (8 mm) incisions, allowing the surgeon to perform a more precise procedure and providing the patient with improved surgical outcomes in form of short hospital stay, less bleeding, less pain, better healing and also leaving very little to no surgical scars.

When medically indicated removal of the uterus (hysterectomy); removal of uterine fibroids (myomectomy); surgeries for endometriosis or the ovaries, certain types of gynecologic cancers and surgeries for pelvic organ prolapse can now all be performed using this newest technology.

This surgical innovation has changed how surgeons look at the treatment of disease. An expert Robotic gynecologic surgeon recently moved back from the United States where he not only practiced but also trained other surgeons in Robotic surgery and is now a full time physician at CMC providing patients with this state of the art procedure.

Robotic assistance in Urology, Dr. Nadim Ayoub and Dr. Firas Zahwa:

The daVinci surgical robotic system made it possible to cure most urologic diseases and cancers without compromising the quality of life for patients.

Robotic prostate surgery enables surgical precision beyond the limits of the human hand. The 3-D view allows surgeons to clearly identify the delicate nerves and blood vessels around the prostate. Today, most prostate cancer patients (70% of cases in the United States) are operated successfully using robotic surgery while maintaining normal bodily functions such as urinary control and erectile function.

In many cases, kidney tumors can be removed without damaging the remaining healthy portion of the kidney (partial nephrectomy) thanks to these robotic procedures.

Many other urologic procedures can be performed safely and effectively with Robotic assistance such as: adrenalectomy, total nephrectomy, pyeloplasty, surgical treatment of urothelial tumors (bladder and upper urinary tract), treatment of uro-genital prolapse (sacro-colpo-pexy), lymph node dissection, and some cases of complicated urinary stones.